Install
KiCad Studio Kit has three install surfaces:
| Surface | Use when | Install path |
|---|---|---|
| KiCad Studio VS Code extension | You want KiCad project navigation, viewers, validation, exports, component search, and MCP integration inside VS Code. | Install oaslananka.kicadstudiokit from the VS Code Marketplace or Open VSX once release publishing is enabled. |
| kicad-mcp-pro Python server | You want an MCP server that exposes KiCad workflows to MCP clients. | Install the Python package or run from this repository with uv. |
| npm launcher | You want a Node package that launches the Python MCP server consistently. | Install kicad-mcp-pro once npm publishing is enabled. |
Local Repository Setup
bash
corepack enable
corepack pnpm install --frozen-lockfile
uv sync --all-extras --frozen --project packages/mcp-server1
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Run the product checks before using a local build:
bash
corepack pnpm run check:kicad-studio
corepack pnpm run check:kicad-mcp-pro
corepack pnpm run check:mcp-npm1
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Extension Development Build
bash
corepack pnpm --filter kicadstudiokit run build
corepack pnpm --filter kicadstudiokit run package1
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The generated VSIX is validated by corepack pnpm run verify:dist.
MCP Server Development Run
bash
uv run --project packages/mcp-server --all-extras kicad-mcp-pro --help1
For HTTP mode:
bash
uv run --project packages/mcp-server --all-extras kicad-mcp-pro --transport streamable-http --host 127.0.0.1 --port 33341
Docker
Container setup and runtime security notes are documented in Docker deployment.
Compatibility
Supported KiCad, VS Code, Node, pnpm, Python, and MCP protocol versions are tracked in the support matrix.